what is power? - a brief study of the theory

what is power? elektor may 1983 "Watts" have got something to do with power, watt-seconds with energy and kilowatt-hours affect our wallets! The arithmetic is as follows: measured "watts" multiplied by hours of operation equals watt-hours. This is then divided by 1000 and the result is kilowatt-hours (or units of electricity on our electricity bill). When this figure is multiplied by the unit price the result is the cost to the consumer. This issue also contains an article on a wattmeter for those readers interested in measuring kilowatt- hours. In this article we shall discuss the difference between energy and power, the meaning of r.m.s. value, and the reason why multimeters are not usually suitable for measuring non-sinusoidal voltages. what is power ? a brief study of the theory If a current I flows through an electrical conductor of resistance R during time t, the energy W released in this conductor is pro- portional to the value of the resistance, time and the square of the ...